Lord of Rot

They crossed the river by boat, and after disembarking at Waterfall Land, they continued their journey by carriage.

Guy got out of the carriage near Longship Castle.

During the time Leech had been too far away to control the Corpse Ghosts and undead at Waterfall Land, the ”stone man” Corpse Ghost, Niels Bohr, had managed things without any issue. He and two hundred fully armed corpses were lying in a huge, underground pool of preservative potion.

Knowing the area was heavily guarded, no one dared to approach.

Sitting in the carriage, Leech looked at Longship Castle in the distance. After a moment’s hesitation, he turned away. ’I haven’t squeezed all I can out of the Monkey Clan yet. I’ll put it off as long as possible.’

After several days of travel, he finally saw Porcupine Territory, with thick smoke rising into the sky.

The smithy was operating at full capacity, and the brick kiln fired materials at high intensity every day. It was a good thing the dense forest had so much wood; otherwise, it would never be able to support the rate at which Leech was consuming it.

The oats planted in September were now showing signs of ripening. Hopefully, they could be harvested before the first snow.

Swarms of Wasps hovered in the sky, and upon seeing Leech’s arrival, the dogs by the roadside stopped and began wagging their tails furiously, panting and sticking out their tongues to curry favor.

The Wasps controlled pests, while the dogs caught mice and wild rabbits.

It was more effective than using pesticides. The animals had something to eat, and it was less work for the people.

The dogs were also good judges of character. After being taught by Pitz, the Beast Language user, they knew exactly who in this territory they absolutely could not provoke.

’The club is the best teacher of etiquette,’ Leech mused.

As long as you can communicate, the same rules apply to any species.

If he had enough time, Leech would have been willing to have a proper talk with the pack of dogs. But he hadn’t even managed his people properly yet, so he decided to keep things simple with the dogs: just use a club.

The Lord’s carriage returned, but there weren’t many people on the road to welcome him.

Everyone was at their post, working.

Seeing the bustling Porcupine Territory made Leech happier than seeing a welcoming party lined up for some pointless ceremony. It wasn’t as if he was returning from a great military victory; there was no need for a grand spectacle.

”Take all the carriages to the castle,” Leech called out loudly. ”The rest of you can go and rest.”

”Long live the Lord!”

”Hoorah!!”

The Soldiers cheered. The long journey had exhausted them.

Leech smiled and rode his horse toward the castle.

The residential area was nearly complete; people could move in before winter.

As he neared the small square in Porcupine Territory, some of the residents who were busy outside saw their returning Lord. The men took off their hats, took half a step back, and bowed.

The women also curtsied, lowering their heads.

Leech returned their gestures with a smile. People have a sense of honor, and earning the reverence of the people in Porcupine Territory gave him a sense of accomplishment that made him smile.

Looking at Porcupine Castle in the distance, Leech sighed. ”No matter how long I’m away, there’s no place like home.”

As if sensing Leech’s mood, the hooves of the horse beneath his saddle quickened their pace.

”Lord, welcome home!”

Simon, the butler, led the castle’s manservants and maids, who were lined up at the castle entrance.

Leech had to admit that Simon’s words had struck a chord with him.

Radish trotted over to take Leech’s horse, making it easier for him to dismount.

He was already a qualified squire. All he needed was to earn merit on the battlefield to become a noble Knight.

Leech straightened his clothes, took the cane his squire handed him, and nodded with a smile. ”Good day, ladies and gentlemen.”

”Lord...” Simon began.

But Leech held up a hand to stop him. ”I’m guessing you’re about to tell me that Gelan, Joe, and Fast-Blade are looking for me?”

It was October when he left, and now it was November. A lot could certainly happen in over a month.

All in all, it had only been a year since Leech had transmigrated.

”Let me rest for a while first, then I can listen to their work complaints.” Leech looked at Oak Pail and asked, ”Miss Oak Pail, I’d like some ice cream and a mug of honey beer.”

Oak Pail nodded happily. ”Please wait a moment, my Lord. I’ll go get it right away!”

’There is no greater honor than for the Lord to return after a long absence and still remember the food I make.’

Seeing this, the butler Simon could say no more. He ordered the manservants to help Leech change his clothes and bring water to wash his face.

The territory’s development wasn’t Simon’s responsibility; he was only in charge of managing the castle.

”No need for all that trouble,” Leech said. ”Just prepare a bath for me. I want to wash off all this foul sweat.”

The manservants were thrilled to hear this.

Bathing the Baron was their job, and it was an excellent opportunity to have one-on-one contact with him. As long as they served him well, there would be rewards.

Leech suddenly turned his head and said to Radish, ”Go find Gelan. Have him arrange lodging for Scholar Toma first, then come find me. Also, have Aina take a few of the carriages, but leave the one with the bones.”

Returning to his territory meant a pile of matters were waiting for him to handle.

”Yes, my Lord,” Radish nodded quickly.

During the trip, Radish had gotten to know Miss Aina one-sidedly. She was a beautiful young lady who didn’t like to talk. Other than occasionally seeing the Lord chat with her, she ignored everyone else.

’She might be a member of Porcupine Territory’s secret forces.’

Leech was unaware of his young squire’s wild guess. He just wanted Aina to transport the coffin back to the Cape Grotto.

’As for the Water Nymph... seawater should count as water, right? Tossing her right in will surely be fine.’

Shortly after he entered the castle, the manservants brought in the water.

The tub was filled with water from the buckets.

Leech stripped off his clothes and lay down in it.

He didn’t mind the manservants coming over with brushes to scrub him.

’This sort of thing is common in the northern bathhouses back on Earth. We’re all men, nothing to be embarrassed about.’

’Leech could still remember a guy in one of those bathhouses who got hard while being scrubbed, yet he and the attendant just kept laughing and chatting away. Now those were men who had seen it all. The attendant even held it and gave it a couple of scrubs. I’m not quite on that level myself; the most I could tolerate was having my back scrubbed.’

After a round of soap and another scrub with the brush, the water quickly became murky.

They changed the water for a rinse, and his body instantly felt lighter.

Leech hadn’t had the chance to bathe while on the road; he had only occasionally changed his clothes and washed his face.

While bathing, he also had a manservant trim his sideburns, stubble, and hair.

He could tell from his old man, Lieder, that a full beard was inevitable.

He kept his hair short. Long hair was elegant but too much trouble to maintain. The Lu Leiyi Continent didn’t have hair dryers, and he hated the feeling of not washing his hair for a long time, so short hair was better.

Once he was cleaned up, Leech changed into fresh clothes and headed to the study.

Oak Pail seemed to have timed it perfectly. Leech had just sat down when she came in carrying the beer and ice cream.

”Thank you,” Leech said.

Ice cream was a strange thing. You craved it in the summer, of course, but you also wanted a bite while sitting by the fire in winter.

One spoonful, and a chill instantly spread through his body...

Leech mentally controlled Aina, having her go and pick one of the Griffin Grass plants. The three stalks were already starting to show signs of withering.

’They might wither before winter.’

’I have to create two Corpse Ghosts or cultivate two Extraordinary Knights before then.’

Leech hadn’t decided which to choose.

After all, the limitations of Griffin Grass were too great. It only provided an Extraordinary power that made the body stronger, which was only suitable for Soldiers who relied on physical combat.

He controlled a Corpse Ghost to toss the Necromancer’s body into a coffin. The dungeon in the Cape Grotto was short on everything except coffins and Magic Arrays for refining Corpse Ghosts.

He placed the Extraordinary Magic Potion inside and began the process of refining the Corpse Ghost.

At the same time, he also placed the Water Nymph in the sea.

”How does it feel?” he asked.

The Water Nymph replied, ”I like it very much.”

”That’s good.”

Leech said, ”In a couple of days, I’ll figure out a way to get some water into the dungeon. You can move in then.”

It was risky outside, after all. The Cape Grotto was safer.

”Meow~” The door was pushed open, and Leech’s attention returned to the present.

”Qingtian,” Leech beckoned. ”Come here, let me hold you.”

”Meow!”

The black cat with white paws obediently leaped into Leech’s arms. This was the benefit of having a Beast Language user in the household; all the pets could be communicated with, and they knew very well who the real boss was.

Speaking of which, he needed to check on Rocket. He hadn’t seen him in over a month and wondered how he was doing.

Qingtian, who had been purring contentedly in Leech’s arms, suddenly let out a ”meow!” and looked at the motionless Brass Dragon on Leech’s shoulder.

”Meow!”

”Beast! What... what are you staring at me for!” The Brass Dragon’s scales prickled under the stare, and it could no longer pretend to be an ornament.

”Meow!”

Qingtian raised a paw and swatted the Brass Dragon on the head.

”Ah, I’ll kill you! Taste my Dragon Breath!” The Brass Dragon was sent flying. It flapped its wings, spun around twice, then roared and opened its mouth.

It was like a lighter suddenly sputtering a flame.

”Meow?” Qingtian leaped out of Leech’s arms and onto the table.

It looked quizzically at the flame-spitting Brass Dragon, not the least bit frightened. Instead, it swiftly raised its paw and smacked the Brass Dragon’s head again. The Brass Dragon slammed onto the table with a THUD.

As the dragon staggered and stumbled, Qingtian seized the opportunity, ducking its head and snatching the Brass Dragon in its mouth as if it had caught a yellow mouse.

”Let me go! Let me go!” the Brass Dragon struggled.

A complete defeat.